Arranged love

“That’s not how this works!” he snaps.

“The game can change at any time,” Bones tells him, coming to stand beside me. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his knife and flips it open. “I have a feeling you’ve swallowed something you shouldn’t have.”

He goes to run past us, but I grab the back of his shirt and yank him off his feet, slamming him down to the concrete floor. Bending down, I press my knee into his neck while Grave holds his hands above his head. Titan straddles his legs, and just like the last guy, Bones rips his shirt open.

“Open up,” I say.

He screams, trying to fight us, and Bones places the blade into his mouth just as Kale closes it. The blade cutting him. Blood instantly fills his mouth, and he starts to choke on it.

“Boy, Bianchi would love to see this.” Bones sighs, as if he’s sad our client isn’t here to see what he paid us to do.

“Oh, he is,” Turner adds, and we look up at him. He casually leans up against the inside of the cell. This is a typical day for him. He points at a black dome in the middle of the room.

Mr. Bianchi-Luca’s dad-made a deal with this sorry son of a bitch. It would have been a great partnership if Kale hadn’t fucked him over. Now we’ll own it. Just one more way for us to own this city.

Bones pulls the knife out, and the rest of us let Kale go. He rolls onto his stomach getting up onto his hands and knees, blood pouring from his mouth.

“Cough ’em up.” Grave kicks his back.

We don’t really think he swallowed them. No, he sold them. He really thought John Bianchi, who is a Don-the ringleader of the Italian-American Mafia-wouldn’t give two shits that he fucked him over. Kale deserves to die a slow death just for that thought alone. Titan was right when he told Turner he’s seen men killed for less. Why he thought he was untouchable is beyond me.

Kale falls to his side. His hands come up to his neck, and he holds it as if that will stop the bleeding on the inside.

Bones leans down next to him, pointing the tip of the blade at his chest. “I always thought you were a gutless bastard.” He smiles to himself. “Let’s see if I’m right.” Bones shoves the blade into Kale’s chest and rips it downward, cutting him wide open.

ALEXA

I THROW BACK my sixth shot since Cross left me here with the girls what feels like hours ago. My temperature’s rising due to the alcohol and the fact he’s still lying to me. Something is going on.Property © NôvelDrama.Org.

I think I’ve proven to him that I can handle whatever he’s doing. I know, I’ve probably only seen a small part, but I’m not a fragile flower. No, I’m a bomb that will blow out the side of a mountain. But I think a part of him wants me to be in the dark. I haven’t gotten to ask Emilee or April just how much they know about their Kings. Maybe he’s just doing what he thinks is right.

A guy who looks to be around our age squeezes his way up to the bar, pushing Jasmine out of his way. “Excuse you?” she snaps, turning to face him.

“Sorry.” He looks at her, then to the bar, his head snapping to the right, getting a better look at her. “Hey, sexy.” His smile widens.

She rolls her eyes.

“Are you interested in twelve monthly payments for eighteen years?” he asks.

April and I laugh out loud as Jasmine shoves him back into the crowd.

“I don’t get it.” Emilee frowns. “What’s so funny?” She throws back a shot.

“Twelve monthly payments for eighteen years …” I say slowly, hoping she’ll get it, but she shakes her head at me after a long moment. “It means child support. He wanted to fuck her and knock her up.”

“Oh.” Emilee’s brows pull together. “That was a horrible pickup line.”

“Right!?” I signal to the bartender for another round. He acknowledges it with a head nod because we haven’t moved from our spot since the guys left us. We’re drinking like we’re fucking fish.

“April?” We hear her name being called out.

We turn around to see Ethan coming toward us.

“Hey!” She holds her arms out for him to hug her.

Instead, he comes to a stop and looks her up and down, pulling his lip back at the short dress she’s wearing. “Is Grave here with you?”

“Yep.” She nods her head quickly.

“Fuck!” He runs his hands through his shaggy dark hair.

“What are you doing here?” She narrows her eyes on him. “You’ve been avoiding my calls and texts.”

“I’ve been busy,” he growls, his eyes searching the crowd. His eyes land on mine, and he asks, “Is Derek here?”

His question makes me pause. I don’t know where Derek has gone. At what point did he walk away? He didn’t go with the Kings, did he? Wherever they went.

“Ethan.” She places her hand on his chest, trying to get his attention. “You need to come home.”

“No,” he snaps, taking a step back from her. “We don’t live together anymore.”

“But you could,” she offers, stepping into him again. “Come live with Grave and me. Go to meetings …”

“Fuck no!” He shoves her back from him, causing her to dump the entire whiskey sour she was holding all over her dress.

She gasps.

“What the fuck!” Jasmine shoves at his chest, making him fall back into another guy. “Get away from her!” she shouts.

April looks down at her white sweater dress and sighs.

“Let’s go the bathroom,” I offer. “Get you cleaned up. We’ll all go,” I say, grabbing her hand. I know Cross said to stay here, but I also remember what he and Grave said to Jasmine and me that first night here about it not being safe. I’m not sending her to the bathroom alone.

The four of us make our way through the crowd and down the hall. I push open the door and almost hit someone in the face. “I’m …” I trail off as I look at the woman. It’s Rachel. She stands there with her hands on her hips and a constipated look on her face.

“Oh, it’s you.” Emilee crosses her arms over her chest, popping a hip out. “You should have just hit her.”

Rachel smiles at me, ignoring Emilee. “It must suck to be as insecure as you are.”

“Excuse me?” I step into the restroom, getting closer to her. “I’m not …”

“Having Cross fire me because you were afraid he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off me.” She runs her pierced tongue across her teeth. “How does it feel to know I’ve fucked both your boyfriend and fiancé?” she asks. Walking by me, she adds, “He’ll come back to me. They always do. You can’t satisfy either one of them.”

Come back? So, she’s still fucking Mitch. That’s exactly what she means, which I couldn’t care less about. But Cross? I’d set this bitch on fire using his Zippo if she were to so much as touch his arm.

“Don’t get so attached to this one,” she adds, trying to push past me, but I grab the back of her hair and yank her farther into the bathroom. The girls enter, letting the door close shut.

“Get off me,” she screams, and I shove her face into the wall by the door.

She turns around and charges me, shoving my back into a bathroom stall. The door flies open, and we fall to the floor. Normally, just the thought of being on a public bathroom floor would make me vomit, but right now, that’s the last thing on my mind.

I pull my fist back and punch her in the face so hard it rips her nose ring out. She is screaming at me while I sit on top of her.

Her hands are flying, and one hits me on the cheek. I go to hit her again, but I’m ripped off her with an arm around my waist.

“What in the fuck are you doing?” I’m shoved into a wall, and Cross stands in front of me, pinning me to it.

I don’t answer. Instead, I’m trying to catch my breath. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been in a fight. Forgot how exhausting it is. The moment the adrenaline wears off, I’m going to want to crash.

A quick look around him shows Titan yanking Rachel up, and he escorts her out with the girls on his ass.

“Alexa?” Cross snaps, gripping my chin and forcing me to look up at him. “I asked you a question.”

“She … she pissed me off.” I manage to get out.

“Pissed you off?” he questions with a huff, clearly unhappy with my answer. I try to rip my face free, but he just holds on to it tighter. “I told you to stay at the bar.”

“And I told you not to lie to me!” I shout back.